Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Vietnamese President Tô Lâm in New York, September 24, 2024. (Prime Minister’s Office via Wikimedia)
Vietnamese President and the General Secretary of the Communist Party Tô Lâm began a three-day state visit to India on May 6—coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the Vietnam-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP). Welcomed by both Indian President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rashtrapati Bhavan—the president’s official residence and workplace in New Delhi—Tô Lâm was accompanied by high-ranking officials, including Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Phan Văn Giang, Public Security Minister Lương Tam Quang, Foreign Minister Lê Hoài Trung and other top officials. The visit underscored Vietnam’s role as a strategic anchor in India’s “Act East” policy—which aims to bolster cooperation with the East and Southeast Asia region.
Prominently, India and Vietnam officially set an ambitious target of 25 billion US dollars in bilateral trade by 2030. New initiatives were announced to strengthen cooperation in rare earth minerals and critical supply chain resilience, specifically addressing the disruption triggered by the Middle East crisis.
On the geopolitical front, Tô Lâm reaffirmed Vietnam’s commitment to supporting the connectivity and intersection of India’s Act East Policy and ASEAN’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative, positioning Hanoi as the key node in New Delhi’s regional vision. In return, Modi expressed gratitude to Vietnam for its completion of the review on ASEAN–India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA).
In terms of science and technology, both leaders agreed to make digital transformation the main drivers of bilateral ties. They committed to cooperate in semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), information technology (IT), 6G and healthcare—with the establishment of shared innovation hubs among technology enterprises.
In practice, the meeting exchanged 13 cooperation agreements, covering digital technologies, medical product regulation, cultural and tourism exchange, city‑to‑city ties, public audit, digital payments, academic collaboration and rare earth cooperation. Significantly, this visit also finalised the digitisation of Cham manuscripts—a project to preserve ancient cultural links between the two nations. Together, these sectors reflect the breadth of the current Vietnam–India strategic partnership.
Furthermore, both sides stressed the importance of security cooperation, reaffirming commitments to deepen collaboration in defence industries, maritime security, cybersecurity, intelligence sharing and counterterrorism in the Indo-Pacific. India also pledged ongoing support to advance Vietnam’s armed forces through training, capacity building and efforts to strengthen its defence‑security capabilities. In parallel, both countries reemphasised their adherence to peaceful settlements, aligning with international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Aligned with Vietnam’s 2045 development goal and India’s 2047 vision, the meeting underscored a trade relationship worth 16 billion US dollars and further cemented Vietnam’s position as a strategic partner in India’s Act East policy.
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